The Bridging History class is designed assist the learner understand a unique, and fairly recent world view known as "world history." World history is not a collection of area studies such as US history, or Chinese history. Instead, world historians seek to look for the broader patterns of human life, and human interactions with each other and the environment.

All history "lives" in three dimensions of time, space and theme. Traditionally, historical inquiry has been based on a chronological framework within a given region, civilization, or political unit. This however does not serve the world historian well as it's the themes that tell the story, that hold the meaning for such a broad investigation. Themes help us find value in the study of history. So Bridging History is a class that ties together the chronological and regional pieces within a thematic structure. Of course, place and time can not be ignored, but they are secondary to the telling of the human story through "big ideas" or themes. This makes history useful, meaningful, and interesting for students. (For a complete list of themes, see the Unit Info page.)